It’s not a secret that the Dallas Stars have dealt with a mountain of injuries so far in the season. Whether it be Matt Duchene dealing with a concussion, or Lian Bichsel going down due to a lower body injury, the list goes on and with any NHL season will continue to grow at times. With the season being 82 games, it is inevitable. (This changes to 84 regular season games starting in the 2026-27 season while reducing the preseason to four games.) Regardless, the Stars continue to show why they are a top team in the NHL and why that means GM Jim Nill won’t be making any moves anytime soon.
The caveat to the injury to Stars center Tyler Seguin is cap relief. If you aren’t following Stars writer Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News by now, I highly suggest it. Per Assimakopoulos, placing Seguin on LTIR gives the Stars $3.8 million in cap space due to the new LTIR rules. The benefit is limited to the last season’s average annual salary until the team decides to officially shut Seguin down for the entire season, including playoffs. If Seguin is shut down for good this season, the Stars will then get the total salary allotted to Seguin which is $9.85 million. As stated before, Nill has done so much with so less and seeing him get the opportunity to work with so much cap space at the trade deadline has Stars fans reeling but, if it’s not broken don’t fix it.
While the thought of the Stars front office making a splash for any big name forward or defenseman excites anyone donned in victory green, what’s the point right now? The Dallas Stars shakily defeated the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night at the Canada Life Centre 4-3 after jumping out in front with the worst lead in hockey (3-0). The road win secured a franchise record 13-game road point streak. That gives the Stars 21 wins and 47 points in 31 games and keeps the pressure on the league leading Colorado Avalanche who suffered a shootout loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. All that being said, the Stars continue to find ways to win regardless of who is on the bench night in and night out.
This is partly thanks to new head coach Glen Gulutzan who said in August in an interview with D Magazine, “It’s not just hitting,” he told D Magazine. “It’s in the rubbing and the racing, the heavy corners, and holding pucks, that part of the game. I think it’s going to be even more important this year, just with the schedule being a shortened season [for the Olympics]. So it’s important to have guys that understand their role, so it’s easier to build a team that’s ready for the next step and playoff hockey becomes a step, not a switch.”
Under Gulutzan and his staff, the Stars have revamped their identity into a team that shows they can battle with any team, regardless of the lineup, on any given night. It’s clear that the Stars have fully bought in to the Gulutzan mentality with massive performances by Mikko Rantanen who is off to one of the best starts as a Dallas Star in 50- games played (18-40-58) joining the likes of Neal Broten and Mike Gartner. Toss in the dynamic goaltending duo of Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith along with point streaks from Jason Robertson and powerplay dominance by Wyatt Johnston and you have one of if not the most dangerous team in the NHL currently.
The Stars have been in the conversation as a Stanley Cup favorite for years now, and while Stars fans say “This could be our year” there is a genuine mood in Dallas that the Stars could find themselves in a position to make one of the strongest pushes for the Stanley Cup in the window that feels wide open.
I will continue to keep an eye out on potential candidates and packages Jim Nill could make once the trade deadline approaches but for now I advise Stars fans to sit back and enjoy the show. This is a special run of hockey.
The Morning Skate 